Torbay rejects Dastyari claims

The man the National Party hopes will unseat independent MP
Tony Windsor
at the next federal election has dismissed claims that he was a politician for hire.

NSW independent MP
Richard Torbay
, who was approached last week by the National Party to seek preselection in the seat of New England, dismissed reports yesterday that he had once offered to join the ALP if he could be guaranteed the job of NSW premier in 2009.

Mr Torbay said it was the reverse. He had rejected an approach by then NSW Labor minister John Della Bosca and then state ALP secretary Matt Thistlethwaite to join the state ALP to replace then premier Nathan Rees. But Mr Torbay said he declined, with
Kristina Keneally
becoming premier until the NSW Labor party’s defeat in 2011.

“This sort of stuff that’s being suggested at the moment is absolutely a creation and it’s a lie," Mr Torbay told the ABC.

“And it just shows you that they will do and say anything in these sorts of circumstances in political desperation."

But NSW Labor general secretary Sam Dastyari stood by claims that Mr Torbay had himself made the offer in a conversation in Mr Torbay’s office on the evening before Mr Rees was dumped.

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Last Friday, Mr Torbay announced he would seek Nationals endorsement for New England ahead of the next federal election due in late 2013 after an approach by Nationals leader
Warren Truss
.

He could not be drawn to criticise his former colleague, Mr Windsor, a former state independent who has held New England since 2001, and who he said had been a “significant contributor both in state and federal parliament".

Mr Torbay has been the independent member for the NSW state seat of Northern Tablelands since 1999, and before that was the Armidale mayor.

But Mr Windsor had become part of the “Labor machinery", which was unpopular in the New England electorate, Mr Torbay claimed.

“We’re seeing early stages of Labor wanting to run campaigns and doing the whole sort of the dirty stuff. That’s the sort of thing that people aren’t warming to," Mr Torbay said.

Mr Windsor has so far declined to comment on the likely challenge from Mr Torbay.